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After being controlled on the ground for the first five minutes of his UFC 148 encounter against Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva dished out some viscous shots in the second round, forcing referee Yves Lavigne to save the Portland native from further punishment.

Without a doubt, a vicious knee to Sonnen’s chest changed the dynamics of the fight, as the “American Gangster” never quite recovered from the brutal shot.

Even though Sonnen admitted that “The Spider” was simply the better man at UFC 148, many of his fans have had a hard time dealing with the loss. Like a person traumatized by a horrific experience, many Sonnen fans are still in the first stage of grief: denial.

Some complain about the fact that Silva wiped his hands off on his shorts after touching his face (Lavigne wiped him down with a towel afterwards), while others say he cheated by grabbing Sonnen’s shorts during the fight (illegal but not uncommon in MMA). But the amazing knee that changed the momentum of the fight has created quite a stir in the MMA community, with many Sonnen fans refusing to admit it was a legal shot. Sonnen’s coach Scott McQuarry plans to capitalize on current emotions, and he’s filed a complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“We started the process of filing a complaint with the Nevada [State] Athletic Commission,” McQuarry said. “We believe the knee that Anderson Silva threw was illegal with the clear intent to strike the face. And it did in fact connect with the face. Chael bit his tongue and needed eight stitches. … We deserve a rematch. If the only way Anderson Silva can win is by cheating, we need to keep a closer eye on Silva before and during a fight. And we need a rematch now. Legal knee or illegal knee, there’s enough doubt with all the fouls to warrant a rematch.”

Without a question, Silva’s knee was 100 percent legal, as the replay clearly shows. He did grab Sonnen’s shorts while breaking away from the clinch, but I can’t recall a fighter ever being disqualified for such a minor infraction. Fighters are typically given a few warnings after such violations (groin shots, cage grabbing, shorts grabbing etc.), before the referee even considers taking a point.

I don’t have a problem with Sonnen getting another shot at Silva down the road, but he definitely doesn’t deserve an automatic rematch. He’ll need to work his way back up like everyone else, as he wasn’t able to get past Silva at UFC 148, even with testosterone replacement therapy.